Bill Russell, chief executive officer and a founder of The Treatment Center of the Palm Beaches, retired in December. Anthony “Tony” Foster, the center’s chief operating officer since 2015, was named interim CEO. Also in December, the center made a $25,000 donation to Palm Beach County Fire Rescue for the purchase of naxolone, an emergency-use medication that can block the effects of opioids and rapidly reverse an overdose. The donation covers the cost of more than 700 doses of naxolone, which is approximately a three- to four-month supply. In Palm Beach County, more than 375 people overdosed and died from opioids between January and September 2016, already surpassing the previous year’s total drug overdose deaths. “With this donation, The Treatment Center is taking our efforts to help individuals and our community overcome the battle of addiction a step further. We recognize the scope and magnitude of this public health epidemic, especially now in this time of crisis, and we will continue to do more to restore hope for the still suffering families and those affected by the disease of addiction,” said The Treatment Center shareholder and recovery advocate Laura Laramee, a Delray Beach resident.

Lifespace Communities, a not-for-profit operator of continuing care retirement communities, named Kevin Knopf as its new regional director of operations. He will be responsible for leadership, strategic planning and day-to-day operations for the five Lifespace communities in Florida: Abbey Delray, Abbey Delray South and Harbour’s Edge in Delray Beach; The Waterford in Juno Beach; and Village on the Green in Longwood.

Under the leadership of Bethesda Health’s interventional cardiologist Dr. George Daniel, doctors at Bethesda Heart Hospital and Bethesda’s Research Center, in conjunction with the Research Physicians Alliance, are studying a treatment to end chronic heart failure through a national clinical trial called DREAM-HF-1. The treatment involves harvesting stem cells from healthy matching donors, and later injecting them into the heart muscles of study participants via a catheterization procedure, followed by periodic evaluations with the study team. Post-procedure visits last approximately 24 months and are conducted via office visits and phone interviews. For potential study participants to find out more, they should check with their doctors to see if they may be eligible, and call the Bethesda Health Research Center at 374-5020.

Amanda Murphy was promoted to dean of the Bethesda College of Health Sciences and director of the Education Resource Center. With Bethesda for the past seven years, she previously served as a clinical nursing instructor.